It is not my policy to hit voters during the election.

You do have to do business with and to try to influence people you don't agree with, or find disagreeable, so it's important to stress that balance.

It's necessary for Israelis and Palestinians to make the compromises that are required to get the direct talks back on track.

When a Cabinet Minister who is sacked for telling lies is re-appointed, in the face of every constitutional convention, only for the same man to be sacked again from the same Cabinet for the same offence by the same Prime Minister – no wonder the public are cynical about politics.

The EU is not a country and it's not going to become a country, in my view, now or ever in the future. It is a group of countries working together.

Unless there is meaningful change in Syria and an end to the crackdown, President Assad and those around him will find themselves isolated internationally and discredited within Syria.

We are making progress militarily, there is no doubt about that. You've seen the reports from Misrata, although reports of the Gaddafi forces completely pulling out of Misrata seem to be exaggerated.